Abstract
Early-life experiences may fuel the emergence of obesity and type 2 diabetes among African populations. We evaluated childhood socio-economic status (SES) and childhood nutritional status as risk factors for increased waist circumference and type 2 diabetes among Ghanaian adults. In the multi-center, cross-sectional Research on Obesity and Diabetes among African Migrants (RODAM) Study, we calculated associations (adjusted for demographics and lifestyle) of parental education and anthropometric markers of childhood nutrition [leg length, leg length-to-height ratio (LHR)] with waist circumference and type 2 diabetes, respectively. Among 5,575 participants (mean age: 46.2 years; 62% female), lower education of either parent (vs. higher) was consistently associated with higher waist circumference (∆: 1.6–3.4 cm). Lower father’s education tended to increase the odds of type 2 diabetes by 50% in women (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.0, 2.4). Reduced leg length and LHR were associated with higher waist circumference. But only in men, leg length was inversely related to type 2 diabetes (OR per 1 standard deviation decrease: 1.1; 95% CI: 1.0, 1.3). In this study, markers of poor childhood SES and early-life nutritional status relate to abdominal obesity in men and women and to type 2 diabetes in men. Thus, prevention efforts should start in early childhood.
Highlights
Early-life experiences may fuel the emergence of obesity and type 2 diabetes among African populations
We aimed to assess whether childhood socioeconomic status (SES) and childhood nutritional status are associated with abdominal obesity and type 2 diabetes in adulthood, independently of adult SES in a homogenous population of Ghanaians living in different geographical locations
RODAM participants in Europe had the highest level of education, were more frequently former or current smokers, presented with higher Body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference, and men in Europe had higher energy consumption than their counterparts in Ghana
Summary
Early-life experiences may fuel the emergence of obesity and type 2 diabetes among African populations. In the multi-center, cross-sectional Research on Obesity and Diabetes among African Migrants (RODAM) Study, we calculated associations (adjusted for demographics and lifestyle) of parental education and anthropometric markers of childhood nutrition [leg length, leg length-to-height ratio (LHR)] with waist circumference and type 2 diabetes, respectively. Markers of poor childhood SES and early-life nutritional status relate to abdominal obesity in men and women and to type 2 diabetes in men. We hypothesized that adverse pre-adulthood social environments measured by parental education and anthropometric markers of childhood undernutrition (defined as leg length and leg length-to-height ratio) are associated with increased risks of abdominal obesity and type 2 diabetes, and that the associations are independent of adult lifestyle and SES
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